Request for Proposals

Batten School & VIMS Student Research Grants

Request for Proposals

Deadline for submission of proposals for the 2025-26 Student Research Grants is 1 May 2025 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Changing the due date to 1 May, with feedback provided no later than 31 May of each year; funds will be available on 1 July and spent out/item(s) delivered/invoice-in-hand by May of the following year.

We anticipate that the maximum amount of an individual award this call will be up to $2,500, with a total of $20,000 approved for FY26 student research grants. Funds can be requested for research supplies and equipment and analytical services in support of a student's research. If you have questions related to the Request for Proposals, please contact Stacy A. Krueger-Hadfield.

The Student Research Grant Fund consists of monies administered by the Batten School & VIMS Office of Academic Affairs plus other secondary resources that may become available on a year-to-year basis. Student awards in past years have typically been up to $1,000-$2,000 each. The level awarded to each successful student applicant will be up to $2,500 for FY26. Any changes in the anticipated award level will be clearly stated in the Request for Proposals.

The following cannot be funded by this committee:

Fees for VIMS Dive Team membership
Short-course fees
Travel not involving scientific work (e.g., conference travel)
Field expenses (e.g., rental fees for vessels; travel-related expenses getting to the field site)

Proposal Submission Guidelines

The proposal should have a single student as the primary investigator and proposer.
Students who have received two or more awards in the past from the Student Research Awards Committee will receive funds only after other student proposals deemed fundable are awarded funding. Students who previously received a Student Research Award are expected to include a succinct 1-page progress report on the previous award's accomplishments, with their application (to be placed between the application's abstract and main text). The new proposal should also reference the information in the progress report.
Projects proposing the use of live vertebrate animals must include a copy of the IACUC Review Request Form submitted to the Research on Animal Subjects Committee. If funded, the funds will not be released until evidence of IACUC approval is submitted to the Student Research Grants Committee and Academic Affairs.
Projects proposing to include human subjects must include a copy of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) request form submitted to the W&M IRB. If funded, the funds will not be released until evidence of IRB approval is submitted to the Student Research Grants Committee and Academic Affairs.
Submit proposals as one PDF document following the format outline given below to the Student Grants Committee Chair as an email to Stacy A. Krueger-Hadfield. The committee will meet within two weeks of the deadline to evaluate proposals. Awards will be announced within four weeks of the deadline.
The criteria for selecting proposals for funding are meant to mirror those used by reviewers evaluating competitive proposals to federal agencies – see below for the criteria. Because the members of the Student Research Grants Committee have varied specialties in coastal and marine science, successful submissions must describe proposed research in a manner accessible to scientists outside the student investigator's specialty.
Although the award can help support work proposed in the student's prospectus, it must not displace funding already received from other sources for identical work. Furthermore, the proposed work must represent ideas originating from the student; it must not be taken from another proposal initiated by anyone else (such as the student's advisor or another member of their research group).
The proposal must also specifically identify the component of their work to be funded by this grant. Students may NOT provide their Dissertation or Thesis Prospectus as their Student Research Grant proposal. If students are asking to have a part of their Dissertation/Thesis research funded, they must clearly define how the scope of work to be funded by this grant relates to the larger context of their overall research project.
The scope of the proposed work should be consistent with the funds requested.
The proposal must be signed by the student's major advisor(s) in acknowledgement of their support of the proposed research.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria, with a score of 1 (poorly demonstrated), 2 (demonstrated but lacking detail), or 3 (clearly demonstrated) assigned to each criterion. A student with previous funding will have a maximum of 39 points and a student without prior funding will have a maximum of 36 points.

Results of Prior Support (if a previous awardee): Demonstration of the success of previously funded project.
Background: Demonstrated sound knowledge of literature in the area, and of prior work on the specific research problem.
Rationale and Hypothesis: Stated the research problem clearly, provided motivation for undertaking the research. As some research may not be hypothesis driven, the proposal must clearly articulate this in the rationale and why descriptive studies fill a gap in our understanding.
Specific Aims: Provided succinct, clear, logical description of the objectives and plan of action.
Originality: Is the work clearly developed by the student?
General Research Methodology: Brief description of the research methods as related to project. Must match the budget requested.
Anticipated results: Brief description of results that will be obtained based on the methodology outlined.
Significance: Demonstrated the potential value of solution or contribution to the research problem in advancing knowledge within and outside the area/field of study.
Timeline: Most grant proposals require a timeline for using the awarded funds. The proposal must include a timeline of how and when funds will be used and by the deadline as outlined above in this RFP.
Budget and Budget Justification: Requested reasonable amount for the proposed work and provided appropriate justification for the itemized budget using the provided template.
CV: Most funding agencies require CVs. To foster practice in filling out agency-specific formats, the CV will be evaluated with a score of 0 (template not followed), 2 (template mostly followed), or 3 (template followed).
Quality of Written Communication: Described the proposed project clearly and professionally in written form.
Following proposal guidelines: Followed directions for the proposal layout and templates.

Proposal Format

The main body of the proposal (numbers 3-6 below) cannot exceed 3 pages. Figures and tables will count in the overall 3-page limit, so use figures or tables wisely. No appendices of extra figures or tables will be accepted. Proposals with text exceeding 3 pages will not be returned without review. Paginate beginning with the introduction (title and abstract pages should be unnumbered) in a footer. This page limit excludes the Title Page, Abstract, Literature Cited, Budget and Budget Justification, Timeline, and the CV. All proposals must be single-spaced, using Times Roman 12-point font with 1-inch margins on all sides. Figures or tables cannot exceed the 1-inch margins. Computerized spelling and grammar checks should not substitute for careful proof-reading. The proposal must be submitted as a single PDF document with the following sections in the order outlined below.

Proposals not in this format, including templates, or submitted as more than one document will be returned without review.

Include the following sections:

A Title Page in the following format shown at right.
A 1-page Results of Prior Support summary that clearly outlines previous support objectives, progress to date, and where these data have been presented (e.g., conferences, published articles). This section only applies if a student has previously been awarded a Student Research Grant.
Abstract: 200-word maximum paragraph concisely summarizing the proposal. List your word count after the abstract.
Background: include essential background information (include any preliminary data), as well as clearly articulated objectives and hypotheses.
Originality: proposals need to include a statement of originality of the work and the student’s role in developing the ideas embodied in the proposal.
Materials and Methods: describe study design and methods to be used including appropriate statistics; include enough detail that the non-specialist can understand and evaluate the proposed methodologies; describe data analysis plans including statistical tests to be applied
Anticipated Results: describe the types of results expected.
Significance: How does the proposed study complement/extend the student's previously proposed thesis/dissertation work? How does the proposed work advance science in general?
Literature Cited: List all citations referenced in the text and no others; using a consistent format that includes author, date, title, source, and pagination is more important than using a specific format.
Timeline: A Gantt chart is an excellent way to show the timeline of each step of the proposal, but students can use any format they wish as long as they effectively convey the timeline associated with their proposal.

Itemized Budget and Budget Justification: Use the provided template below to complete the proposal budget and budget justification:

A four-column table to be used as a template for student research grant proposal budget and budget justification.
Item	Cost per unit	Line Item Cost	Justification
Ex. Such and such sample analysis	$4/per sample	$40	This sample processing is $4 per sample on the machine in such and such laboratory (see website link here) and there will be a total of 10 samples so a line item cost of $40.
...	...	...	...
		TOTAL	Max. $2,500

Research on Animal Subjects Form (if applicable): Provide completed IACUC form if vertebrates will be used as experimental subjects. Note that students will need to supply an approved IACUC prior to funds being released.
Research on Human Subjects Form (if applicable): Provide completed IRB form if humans will be used as experimental subjects. Note that students will need to supply an approved IRB prior to funds being released.
Curriculum Vitae: Students must use the NIH/NSF style biosketch format and it will not exceed 2 pages.

Last updated by J. Hay on 10 February 2025.